It’s actually remarkable that we still fall for the sales pitch that cars equal freedom. There’s nothing free about the lack of choice that comes from car dependancy. And building our city-regions around cars is the most costly thing we can do. Does that sound “free” to you?

It’s that time again. Thanksgiving traffic in the United States reminds us that we’re not stuck in traffic — we are traffic. And the only thing we’re really stuck in is the belief that we can’t make different choices. Via @DanLinden@abcnews Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos

It’s not that we need to immediately realize “post-car cities.” It’s that we need to immediately realize post-car DEPENDANCY cities. #multimodalcities#freedom#choices

The next time someone tries to tell you that it’s just “social engineering” to make walking, biking & public transit more enjoyable, inform them that designing our current car dependency has been the largest & most damaging social engineering experiment in human history.

“Carbon emissions are about to hit an all-time high, thanks to cars. We thought oil use had peaked in the U.S. & Europe 15 years ago. Cheap gasoline prices, bigger cars & people driving more miles are boosting oil use at rates that none of us expected.” newrepublic.com/minutes/152536…

Possibly the most important conversation your city should be having — the inter-connected components, each critically important, of the cycle of car dependancy, based on @LitmanVTPI, slightly adapted by @cosaingalway.

Does YOUR city understand this?

”Adding highway lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening
your belt to cure obesity." - Lewis Mumford, 1955. Arguably the most important quote in city-building & the most important necessary mindset shift for city-regions. My @planetizen post planetizen.com/node/53659

“A couple of decades ago, it was perfectly normal to smoke inside. Today, very few would do that. I think it’s the same with cars in the city centre. One day we’ll look back & ask ourselves why we ever thought that was a good idea.” - #Oslo’s Vice Mayor. nytimes.com/2018/12/19/tra…

A short history of traffic engineering, via @copenhagenize. Manufactured car dependency takes a lot of forms (see this whole thread), including how easy or hard we make it to get from A to B. A deliberate result of skewed priorities. #multimodalcities

Related hashtags

It’s not every day that a developer wants me to coach their team on urbanism, & critique their partially built inner city project so next phases can be better. Looking forward to workshopping with @greenstonehomes & city staff on @KendallYards in #Spokane Washington this week.

The heart of #Spokane’s @KendallYards neighbourhood is the new/evolving main street — walkable streetscape, generous patio seating, human scale. Next phase can have more housing above the street providing more eyes & “body heat.” People come from all over to enjoy the new street.

Whenever it’s said that “speed wasn’t a factor” in a deadly crash, what they really mean is that the car involved wasn’t technically speeding. It presumes that the speed limit wasn’t too high to begin with. When it comes to death from collisions, speed is almost always a factor.

Related threads

Nothing beats a well maintained vehicle that takes you from point A-B in a clean and neat environment. But having your car clean is complicated and expensive, and it takes a lot of time and energy. These 42 tips will get you working smarter than working your ass off

Thread

Foam Brushes For Your Vents

Air vents need to be kept clean. You never know when someone with a dust allergy will come into your car and have a dust sneezing attack

Additionally, it simply is not healthy to be breathing in all of that dust. So go down to your local hardware store and get a cheap, small foam brush. Now you can clean out those vents and keep your car smelling fresh as well

We're slipping into a zone where #freedom is in danger. It's outrageous that Abhijit Iyer-Mitra @Iyervval has been arrested by #Odisha Police on risible charges and denied bail. Please read and circulate my protest and appeal. Fight for your, his and everybody's liberty. #India

Meanwhile, courts have further extended P Chidambaram's protection from arrest in one of the massive financial scams in which he is allegedly involved. Clearly, for him 'jail is not the safest place'.

It is a week since Abhijit Iyer-Mitra was arrested for satire. He is still in jail. In this wondrous democracy of ours, #FreeSpeech fetches jail. Criminals and offenders are extended bail or, even better, protection from arrest. We are all complicit in this travesty of justice.

After the #fall of the #Roman#Empire in these businesses food was served in shared tables and consisted of a fixed menu, according to what was already prepared. Even the nobility, like celebrities today, would frequent when traveling.

But, when did the concept and business of restaurants truly begin?
It began with Paracelsus (1493-1541), a brilliant Swiss physician who modernized medicine with rational clinical judgment and changed the way we eat in the #Western#world.